The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1887-05-19
MIR. GES>NER On LABOR.
A Lecture On "LabOr Grievances" That
Raised Cain.
Talk About WOrkmsn's Grievances From
A Labor Editor ThSt Did Not
Entirely Meet the Views
OF His Hearers,


Labor Grievances, ,ReR aud Imaginary"
"There are those IN power" said MIR,
Gessner, seven to our little primped up
labor leaders, who never like to hear the
truth, or entertain grievances. But the
time has come when they must and shall
hear. Killing the bearer of evil tidings
RVerts no calamity. IL proves nothing,
settles nothing, aVails nothing. Pha-
rOah killed the messengers, not because
they lied, but because they told him 3
truth be did not want 70 hear. The Czar
of Russia has the same foolish notion
to-day, aud thinks that by killing the
truth teller he kills the truth
How far the labor issatisfactiOn is
based on truth and right shall ba the
subject of my talk for a few minutes
There Is a great deal of nonsense taught
In the lodge room Of labor assemblies
and inculcsted by labor agitstOrs. Too
many working people fall into the habit
of repeating things which they hear
other people say, which they have never
for moment stopped to consider or In.
Vestigate. The working people very
often believe that they are robbed, Op
pressed and cheated, simply because
somebody has told them 30. 1t is easy
to gain applause from wOrkingmen by
painting their miserable condition, talk
Ing of rags, distress and hunger. When
Dor ref"rmer wants to work up an
audience to real white heat he trOts out
the raItling, bOny skeleton of some old
fellow who really died Of gOUt, superin
duced by high living, and calls 1t hOr.
Fible example of oppressed labor.
The grievances of labor are largely
imaginary. The real grievances and
those which will stand examination,
have eX sted since men first formed
themselves into communities and con-
tiDue to exist and form the basis Of
many harangues speeches and lectures
Many things have contributed to bring
about this state of affairs. The bTazsD
faced frauds Of elections and bribery of
legislators have done great deal to
make men lose faith In the ballot. Or
ganiZRtiOn Of labor has gone on un-
checked, and almost unlimited power is
often welded by one man behind whom
is an unincOrpOTated and irresponsible
labor union. There are combinations
Of men, less than dozen, In every thor.
0ughly organized labor union, who ex
ercise as absolute power over their
trade and the men engaged In 1t as the
Gear does over his subjects. When even
old venerable Leo, more august and i'm
perial than the mightiest Caesar. halts
before the vast power of the Knights Of
Labor, surely there is little loom for
complaint on the score OF liberty and
power. We are glad to know that the
power exists, but grieved to know 1t is
80 frequently and flagrsntly abused.
1--WE do not find fault with men because
they are dissatisfied. Men ought never
to become dissatisfied, and when they do
they ought to lay down and die, for they
have OutliVed their usefulness Yet,
while we complain Of the hard lot of the
man who has to support and educate
large family on 50 per week, let US at |
least drop tear for the heroic ancestors
who did the same thing 200 years ago
for 81 cents, as l shall show you by sta
tistics."
According to the Post, the lecturer
then showed by data from statistics thst |
the condition Of the lsbOrer of the pres
ent day Is very much better than the |
condition of that class during the sew.
enteenth and eighteenth centuries. On I
the other hand, 1t should not be forgot
ten that capital has stock In trade also,
Of hackneyed phrases and stereOtyped
lies, and one of them is mo money in
the business" Mr.. Gessner said that the
arguments used by capital and labor In
all ages have been about the same. The
chief argument of capital has been you
are not compelled to stay here" he was
glad to say that some progress had been
made In regard to this, and now labor
ers will not slave, and will not allow
anybody else to take their places and
become slaves.
Labor in the United States, Mr.. Cess
ner said, was better fed, clothed, housed
and surrounded with more of the com
forts Of life, had more liberty and en-
joyed greater opportunities than any
where else in the world. The working
people were not poor because others
were rich, any more than some were
Ignorant because others we're cultured.
The question Of land will not solve the
labor problem. The industrial popula-
tion wants no land and would not work
1t II they had 1t. The United States has
given great quantities of land to rail-
roads, to educational institutions and
for other purposes, and this has been
one OF the great factors In making the
country what 1t is t0-dsy-the greatest
In the world. The lecturer concluded
by saying that the condition of both
capital and labor will be bettered, and
the great question solved, when they
both work together and cease to antag
Onize each other. Il
RAISED A STORM.
In the general discussion which fol.
lowed, says the Times, Walter Vrooman
editor OF the Kansas City Organizer, Op.
posed Mr. GessDer's views on the pro-
gress Of the labOrer and cooperation.
He never took any comfort from looking
back over the miseries Of the past. He
would not divide the product of labor
with the capitalist, bat wanted it all.
A. Baker, OF this city, agreed heartily
with the lecturer and said he had seen
more downright tyranny in some Of the
labor unions to which he had belonged
since he was 18 years old than he ever
saw exercised by monarch or m0nOpo-
list.
Thomas Grundy said that all things
considered the men who earn only 80
per week to-day as referred to by the
lecturer, are worse of than those who
earned only few shilIings per week
200 years ago. They ought to have at
least $3 day and as much more as they
can get.
John Miller, a ssndy.complexione Z
fiery looking man, caused considerable {
merriment by saying that the people :
are not civilized yet and that all this
talk about capital being necessity was
like Gessner's lecture, not worth row
Of pins. II 1t we're not for such men as
Gessner the working people would some
day come to the right way Of looking at
things.
Mr.. Gessnef replied to these sallies 9
good humoredly and said that his lee.